Went out to ride the M7 cycleway a couple of days ago, was a beautiful morning for the most part except I came off and got a nasty road rash. Fortunately I was okay to keep going and the bike had no mechanical issues.

Later that day I went to see my local GP, he gave me a shot of tetanus vaccine and a script for flucloxacillin. He also recommended Chlorsig eye ointment and Betadine spray. But the clinic didn't have dressings large enough to cover the wounds, he said I can go to the hospital for that if I have the time to wait.

Anyhow I thought it may be better to leave the wounds open, as long as I can keep them clean. I am working from home for the next few days so I can walk around in undies and not disturb the wounds, hopefully can heal quicker.

I was wondering would it be better to cover up the woulds? Cause I can go to the hospital with my laptop and work from there for a bit. But then that also means repeated visits to change the dressing.

Some interesting stats, if the GPS was accurate, it happened where the cadence sensor stopped recording. Speed at the time was 26km/h, then the bike flew at 95km/h very briefly without me on it.

I can't recall names, but there are several brands of breathable dressings which are sold in rolls or sheets big enough to cover most abrasions. You can leave it on until the abrasion heals, although it can be removed by dabbing with olive oil if necessary. Ask at the pharmacy.

I have been told that it is better to keep the wounds covered. Keeping the wound moist helps to prevent scarring and infection. I often use the thin, clear wound dressing (Opsite?) for gravel rash. Since it's a bit of a pain to get off, I usually just leave it on until the wound heals (or it starts falls off).

The flucloxacillin is not recommended - it has the wrong coverage as an oral medication. And is a prime example of over-prescribing. Betadine actually slows healing and has no indication. Chlorsig has no role to play in managing traumatic body wounds.

You need to scrub the wound to remove any gravel or bitumen pigment from the would - foreign matter will delay healing, harbour infection and possibly give you a bitumen tattoo. Yes cleaning this will hurt.

I would recommend dome chlorhexidine hand wash (2 or 4%) from a discount chemist and wash the wounds once a day with a dilute solution of no stronger than 1:20. Let air dry.

As for a dressing - depends. Most of the time dressings are more about keeping our bed linen & clothes clean! The best dressing is Comfeel Thin hydrocolloid dressing. It's about $8 a 100mm square but can last up to 73hrs. There is solid evidence that it DOES speed healing, but does accumulate a rather odd looking goo over the wound - this is good stuff.

Last edited by ValleyForge on Mon Oct 30, 2017 12:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.

peter wrote:Thanks, I'm going to the GP after I make a sandwich to check on the wounds/progress, see what he says. From what I can see the wounds are drying up ok, except a small area with some wet stuff.

ValleyForge wrote:If it is kept moist, it will heal faster, but there is not a huge gain there.

I like a scab to form - that means I no longer have to bandage it. To that end I like a power rather than a cream or liquid. There used to be a product called BFI ... arr Bismuth Formic Iodide ... https://www.drugs.com/answers/bismuth-f ... 71821.html Looks like the marketers see it as too effective and they want to see some other stuff. Sigh.

reminds me of my own stack a few years back. the GP cleaned the wound, applied dressings and a tetanus jab. ( a good clean/wash of the wound is definitely required to prevent infection).

anyway, the GP used a very good quality surgical dressing and tape (that didn't lose adhesion and peel off easily).GP suggested i go into the clinic to get the dressing changed every few days but i couldn't be bothered and just left it (knee dressing) on until it dropped off a few weeks later. i removed the elbow and hip dressing myself after a week.

you should also monitor the wounds closely. if the pain persist, skin around the wound turns red and feels warm to touch, then you will need to change the dressing pronto.

apparently there are 2 schools of though about whether dry or wet dressing is better. lookup and you'll find lots of info. personal experience - i just find dry dressing is better for smaller wounds and wet dressing for larger wounds (too much surface contact area).

Just came back from the GP, he said things are looking good, no special concerns and no need to go to the hospital. He explained to me that the wounds have improved, and the surrounding skins have not shown any signs of infection.

When I mention about the use of Chlorsig, he said it's primarily to keep the wounds moist, alternatively I can also use Fucidin ointment (appears to be much cheaper than Chlorsig).

I will continue to monitor the situation, I can feel that the skin is very tight, possibly due to healing. The GP suggested to move more rather than sitting still, take Panadeine Extra as need to help ease the pain and to relax the muscle.

Basically the decision is to leave the wounds open for fresh area, so that's my pass to walk around in undies inside the house, the missus doesn't like it.

peter wrote:I will continue to monitor the situation, I can feel that the skin is very tight, possibly due to healing. The GP suggested to move more rather than sitting still, take Panadeine Extra as need to help ease the pain and to relax the muscle.

The tightness is due to increased oedema in the sub-cutaneous tissues, and the contraction phase of wound healing - especially obvious over a large area. Managing a wound as "dry" increases this.

The "muscle" was likely contused in the fall, but should return to normal judging by the superficial nature of the injury. Overall, liberal use of analgesics in injuries like this shortens recovery, but only in the short to medium term. Long term results are the same - so all you Spartans out there can rest easily.

My dad used to tell me how the old timers used to scrub the gravel and dirt out of the wounds with hard bristled nail brushes. I was always a bit too soft to try it myself.Mind you when I was at the Tour of the Gila and one of our boys crashed, he was taken to hospital there and the nurse gave his all-over body rash a good scrub with something that looked like a pot scourer. Its hard to scream when you have a neck brace on and you cant move your jaw.I was taking photos the whole time - am I a bad person?

Anyway Peter we'd like to see a video next, of you doing the rash scrubbing

ValleyForge wrote:The tightness is due to increased oedema in the sub-cutaneous tissues, and the contraction phase of wound healing - especially obvious over a large area. Managing a wound as "dry" increases this.

The "muscle" was likely contused in the fall, but should return to normal judging by the superficial nature of the injury. Overall, liberal use of analgesics in injuries like this shortens recovery, but only in the short to medium term. Long term results are the same - so all you Spartans out there can rest easily.

Derny Driver wrote:My dad used to tell me how the old timers used to scrub the gravel and dirt out of the wounds with hard bristled nail brushes. I was always a bit too soft to try it myself.Mind you when I was at the Tour of the Gila and one of our boys crashed, he was taken to hospital there and the nurse gave his all-over body rash a good scrub with something that looked like a pot scourer. Its hard to scream when you have a neck brace on and you cant move your jaw.I was taking photos the whole time - am I a bad person?

Anyway Peter we'd like to see a video next, of you doing the rash scrubbing

Yep my dad was a surgeon & any gravel rash was cleaned with a nail brush - debrided is the term dad used which sticks strongly in my memory, with just a hint of a shudder decades later. My siblings & I were smart rather than tough though - we very quickly learned to hide the wounds from dad & go to mum instead.

Wounds were then treated with mercurochrome, well before the US & Europe decided painting yourself with mercury salts might be bad.

I have to confess the only reason I don't use a nail brush is that we no longer own one. So I use the absolute roughest facecloth I can find in the linen cupboard and go to town on it in the shower with the facecloth soaped up as much as possible. I still have a few dirt tattoos, though.

I find it doesn't hurt that much. The initial impact and slide along the cheesegrater is always worse. If you can survive thatwithout fainting, debriding the wound is a cakewalk. But you must do it as soon as possible afterwards.

trailgumby wrote: Maybe... I don't actually mind riding in the rain, so long as I have functional brakes. But seriously, it doesn't actually hurt that much. I dunno what people are so worried about.

Well sounds like you are not doing it right then...suggest you try lots of lemon juice on the washer during the scrub, rinse off with vinegar, pat dry with rock salt and then use Tiger Balm Red on any of those oozing bits to stop them drying out. Anyway to the OP, looks nasty and it will take time but any off on a path or bridge like that is normally much quicker to heal than one on a road full of car grime, peoples rubbish and general gutter waste(s).

find_bruce wrote:Yep my dad was a surgeon & any gravel rash was cleaned with a nail brush - debrided is the term dad used which sticks strongly in my memory, with just a hint of a shudder decades later.

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